NATO HQ 8 Dec . 2005

Opening remarks by the Secretary General Meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Foreign Ministerial Session Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning, and a warm welcome to this meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Foreign Ministers. Let me also extend a special welcome to Dr. Javier Solana, the European Union’s High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. NATO’s transformation to adapt to 21 st century threats and challenges is well on track. Enhancing our political dialogue is an important part of this process. Over breakfast, we already had a constructive discussion on broader Middle Eastern issues. And the rest of our programme will also demonstrate the unique value of NATO as a forum for transatlantic debate. This morning, we will address the political aspects of NATO’s current missions and operations. Afghanistan remains in our focus as we help this country to build its future, expanding our NATO presence throughout the country. NATO’s engagement has been and is instrumental in the progress achieved and we are committed to stay the course, offering a cooperation programme to assist the government in developing its defence and security sector. But we are not working in a void there. Other international actors should stay equally committed and Afghan ownership should be strongly endorsed. This should be our focus for the important London Conference on Afghanistan at the end of January 2006. We will also address the status talks on the future of Kosovo that have started recently. We will underline our determination to remain engaged during this crucial period for Kosovo’s future, both politically through the Extended Contact Group and militarily through KFOR. Turning to Iraq, we will endorse the consolidation and build up the Joint Staff College that I opened in September. We remain committed to working with the democratic government of Iraq to help them address the security needs of the Iraqi people through training both inside and outside of Iraq, as well as assistance with equipment. At the request of the Government of Pakistan, NATO has also played its part in helping the victims of the terrible earthquake of 8 October in this country. NATO is not, and does not aspire to be, a humanitarian relief organisation but we have been pleased to be able to make a contribution in this difficult period. Our personnel will come home on schedule early next year. Pour ce qui est maintenant du Darfour, l’OTAN continue à apporter un soutien logistique précieux à l’Union africaine dans le contexte préoccupant du récent regain de violence dans cette province. Il nous faudra examiner les perspectives de ce soutien. Ce matin, nous entamerons également notre discussion sur l’ordre du jour du prochain sommet de l’OTAN, qui se tiendra à Riga en novembre 2006, et qui verra nos chefs d’État et de gouvernement donner un nouvel élan à la transformation politique et militaire de l’Alliance. La réunion d’aujourd’hui permettra de jeter les bases d’un sommet réussi. Plus tard dans la journée, nous rencontrerons les ministres du Conseil de partenariat euro-atlantique, ainsi que le ministre russe, M. Sergey Lavrov, et le ministre ukrainien, M. Borys Tarasyuk, en vue de faire progresser notre coopération et d'examiner ensemble des questions d'intérêt commun. L’ambitieux programme de réunions qui nous attend aujourd’hui est à l’image d’une Alliance atlantique qui relève le défi du changement. Nous assurons le maintien et le rétablissement de la paix dans le cadre de nos missions et de nos opérations ; nous nous employons à promouvoir la stabilité et nos valeurs communes grâce à nos partenariats ; et nous renforçons notre coopération avec d’autres organisations. Avec ces quelques mots d’introduction, je serais reconnaissant à nos collègues de la presse de bien vouloir quitter la salle afin que nous puissions entamer nos travaux.